CTL Hosts 3rd Edition of NFLP from December 9 to 13
The Centre for Teaching and Learning (CTL), IIM Bangalore, hosted the third edition of Nurturing Future Leadership Program (NFLP) from December 9 to 13, 2024, under the aegis of Malaviya Mission Teacher Training Programme by the Ministry of Education, Government of India. Faculty members from various central- and state-funded universities as well as private institutions, including IIM Amritsar, IIITDM Kancheepuram, NIT Calicut, University of Delhi, Banaras Hindu University, Central University of Haryana, IISER Thiruvananthapuram, Digital University Kerala, KIIT Bhubaneswar, Maulana Azad National Institute of Technology Bhopal, Bangalore University, Mahatma Gandhi University Kottayam, Karnataka State Open University, Rani Channamma University (Belagavi), and Davangere University attended the programme.
Prof. Sushanta K Mishra, Chairperson of CTL, and Professor of OB & HRM area, IIMB, inaugurated the programme and delivered the Welcome Address, where he shared a glimpse of IIMB’s legacy and emphasized the role of educators in not just shaping young minds but also fostering an empowered society.
The Keynote Address was delivered virtually by Prof. Rishikesha T Krishnan, Director, IIMB, where he discussed various aspects of ‘Academic Leadership’. He urged the participants to maintain a personal vision, work towards engaged scholarship with focus and strategic intent, benchmark against the best, and strive towards continuous improvement.
The sessions thereafter were led by senior faculty members of IIMB. Every session was carefully curated to instil different aspects of academic leadership including managing the self, cultivating interpersonal relationships, and developing leadership capabilities to tackle diverse crises at an institutional level. The details of various sessions of the programme are as follows:
Prof. Sushanta Mishra covered diverse facets of leadership through sessions on ‘Leadership Styles’, ‘Connecting with and Influencing People’, ‘Emotional Intelligence and Resilience’, and ‘Relationship and Trust Building’. Using selected case studies, visual aids, and exercises. The professor demonstrated how shifting the perspective from others to oneself always serves better than blaming the circumstances. To give them a practical experience, he engaged the participants in a team building game which threw light on their unexplored individual traits. He also touched upon the difference between training, monitoring, motivating, and delegating, and the significance of choosing what’s right over what’s convenient.
Prof. Shankar Venkatagiri, Chairperson of Information Systems Area at IIMB, delivered an insightful session on ‘Negotiation’. Using multiple stories, anecdotes, and personalized examples, he analysed different crucial scenarios demanding high negotiation skills for an effective academic leadership and discussed important negotiation tactics to effectively navigate them.
Prof. Rahul De’, Professor of Information Systems, led an enlightening session on ‘Digital Leadership’ where he touched upon the relevance of cutting-edge technologies like Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Data Science, and Prompt Engineering in the current academic setting. Participants actively interacted on the possible approaches they could adopt to tackle the challenges they face while teaching a digitally advanced generation.
Prof. Sourav Mukherji, Dean, Alumni Relations & Development, and Professor of OB & HRM, highlighted the importance of sustainability and inclusivity in the current academic scenario during his session on ‘Creating a Sustainable Society: The Role of Institution Leaders’. He discussed how academicians can influence students, citing various techniques and initiatives adopted by IIMB in its journey towards sustainability. The professor urged the participants to contemplate on possible solutions that could be adopted towards a sustainable future using a dedicated questionnaire.
Prof. Anil B Suraj, Chairperson, Committee on Diversity and Inclusion, and Professor of Public Policy, took the participants through the key concerns of ‘Institutional Legal Aspects and Fostering Equity and Inclusivity’. The participants discussed various concerns regarding the legal issues in their institutional settings and the challenges in tackling inclusivity. Together, the group contemplated on key issues in an academic setting like the proportionality of student penalties, appropriateness of monetary penalties, alternative solutions, and constant and persistent efforts on sensitization.
Prof. Deepti Ganapathy, Chairperson, Centre for Management Communication, conducted an engaging session on ‘Effective Communication’. Dividing the participants into groups, she urged them to reflect on different types of communication through an activity which helped them rethink their ways of communication and interpersonal skills that play a vital role in their success as academic leaders.
Prof. Mukta Kulkarni, Dean, Programmes, and Professor of OB & HRM, led an interactive session on ‘Decision Making and Managing Unconscious Biases’. Using analogies of ‘dropping a weapon’ and ‘lighting a controlled fire’, and various examples from her career and the participants’ experiences, she demonstrated the need to take right decisions at the right time. She further urged the participants to experiment and introduce novel ways of dealing with their routine work.
The programme culminated with an interesting session, which involved a four-person chess game called Quaternity. The game was designed in a way that it could only be mastered if one made successful alliance with one’s coplayers, thus enabling the participants to reflect on their interpersonal and leadership skills.
Apart from the enriching sessions on academic leadership, the NFL program also contributed to the holistic growth of the participants by incorporating Yoga sessions a movie screening on thought leadership, and a cultural walkthrough comprising pottery and Channapatna toy making workshops. The participants were also taken on a guided tour around the IIMB campus, where they witnessed the institute’s multiple initiatives on sustainability.
Prof. Mishra delivered the closing remarks by motivating the participants to practice continuous self-improvement while balancing various academic roles. He also addressed various queries of the participants. The programme was officially concluded with a valediction ceremony.
With the completion of the third edition of NFLP, close to 90 faculty educators engaged and 50+ higher educational institutions across India benefitted from the NFL programs hosted by IIM Bangalore so far.